"Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves hopes to bring a relevant twist to "Let Me In," a remake he is helming of the critically acclaimed Swedish vampire film "Let the Right One In."

Overture Films and Hammer Films are spearheading the picture, which is based on the book "Lat den Ratte Komma In" by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

"One of the things I really wanted to do was find my own way into the story while still being very, very reverent to the beautiful film and to the wonderful story that they created," Reeves said in an interview with MTV. "And so the story in many ways follows the same trajectory.

"I really wanted to put you, even more so, into the point of view of the boy and understand his childhood as vividly as it comes across in the book."

Vampires are enjoying unprecedented popularity, and Reeves believes the genre has really touched a nerve and tapped into a very deep vein.

"To me, the thing about genre stories that is the most interesting thing is what you do with the metaphor of the genre," he said. "You can do a grand, sweeping love story, like 'Twilight,' and use that metaphor of the two people that are just being torn apart and the aching-ness of it, and that's a great fantasy. I think that what people respond to in 'Twilight' is the fantasy of it. It's such a grand, romantic fantasy, and in a way, the reason why I think there is room for a film like ours is, though it's a vampire film, it uses it in such a different way.

"Whereas 'Twilight' is kind of a fantasy, this will be a darker, scarier kind of journey. Obviously, 'True Blood' is also really big these days too, and that's a different thing using the sexual side. I think it's really about what sort of emphasis the story takes and how you use the metaphor. The amazing thing about genre films is the way to smuggle in different kinds of themes and things worthy of exploration. I think what so struck me about this story is that what it is exploring is so different and so real."

The film follows an alienated 12-year-old boy -- Kody Smit McPhee ("The Road") -- who befriends a mysterious young newcomer -- Chloe Moretz ("(500) Days of Summer," "Dirty Sexy Money") -- in his small New Mexico town and discovers an unconventional path to adulthood. Although he realizes that she's a vampire, his friendship with her is stronger than his fear.

Cara Buono, Sasha Barrese, Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins also star.

"Let Me In" hits theaters Oct. 1.